My 9 month old kitten is out of control!

I could really use some advice! My 9 month old kitten, Indiana Jones, has been ornery ever since we first got him, but we assumed it was excess energy that he was finding an outlet for. He is neutered, and was neutered the day before we got him. He is also very big - currently 12.5 pounds, and it's all muscle! He is not declawed, but we keep his claws trimmed, he is pretty good about letting us clip them.

When issues have cropped up throughout his little life, we have tried the usual discipline methods to stop them - that is, block him from getting into things, ignore him when he's bad, and praise him when he's good. It worked fairly well, he grew out of many of the problems, such as attacking people's feet from under chairs/beds and biting at our fingers when we were petting him.

He has a problem right now that I just cannot seem to break him of. He jumps on me when I am sitting at my computer, sitting with my mom in her office, or asleep in my own bed. He uses his claws when he does this - my shoulders are covered in scratches from him, and I am currently nursing a couple of small but deep scratches in my scalp from his 'wake-up call'. I've tried ignoring him when he does this, and praising him when he sits on my lap or curls up with me in bed, but he has not gotten any better about it.

I'd like to mention, he is VERY brave... He lives up to his name, he explores everything and has no fear. He adores water, so spraying him has never done anything except make him playful and get him to beg us to turn the faucet in the bathtub on for him. Clapping at him and shouting startled him the first two or three times we did it, but now he doesn't care.

He gets free roam of our house, we have cat-proofed anywhere he can get into, such as on top of our cabinets and fridge - we lost an old glass slow-cooker to his clumsy paws and the tile floor before we realized he could get up there. He play-tussles with our family dog for a little while every day which helps him get his energy out.

I would appreciate any suggestions, comments, thoughts... I am at wit's end... I would never give him up because of this, I made a promise when I signed his adoption contract that I intend to keep. But I would love to be able to sleep without being woken up by his claws in my head.

Thank you for reading through all this!

First off, he is a beauty! And second it is so good of you to be so committed to him.

Boy, ok good, keep the claws trimmed. Declawing is a HUGE no no and I know you realize that. Not only is it cruel and unnecessary, it can open other doors to worse behavior.

What about keeping him out of your room at night? Will he create a big disturbance at the door? As far as the climbing up you, I would get Sssscat. It is an aerosol spray that emits a beam. When your cat crosses that beam a puff of air comes out. It will not hurt him, do not use near flame, as with any spray.

Like I say, it's harmless and just once has kept my cats off the cupboards. But I would caution, ONLY use this in the area you do not want him in. While you are sitting on the couch, don't use it or he will never want to come to you. He needs to associate it with forbidden areas. Best case senario would be to use it without you sitting there. Then you are out of the picture. You would not be associated with it. Does he climb up on the computer desk when you are not sitting there? That would be the best way. When that problem area is solved, move it to your moms office desk. Maybe leave a treat up on the desk to lure him up. Now that I think about it, do this without you being in the room. We want your kitty to never associate something scary with you, just areas where he is forbidden.

I hope this helps somewhat. You can't go through life clawed up!!

Originally Posted by farleyv

First off, he is a beauty! And second it is so good of you to be so committed to him.

Boy, ok good, keep the claws trimmed. Declawing is a HUGE no no and I know you realize that. Not only is it cruel and unnecessary, it can open other doors to worse behavior.

What about keeping him out of your room at night? Will he create a big disturbance at the door? As far as the climbing up you, I would get Sssscat. It is an aerosol spray that emits a beam. When your cat crosses that beam a puff of air comes out. It will not hurt him, do not use near flame, as with any spray.

Like I say, it's harmless and just once has kept my cats off the cupboards. But I would caution, ONLY use this in the area you do not want him in. While you are sitting on the couch, don't use it or he will never want to come to you. He needs to associate it with forbidden areas. Best case senario would be to use it without you sitting there. Then you are out of the picture. You would not be associated with it. Does he climb up on the computer desk when you are not sitting there? That would be the best way. When that problem area is solved, move it to your moms office desk. Maybe leave a treat up on the desk to lure him up. Now that I think about it, do this without you being in the room. We want your kitty to never associate something scary with you, just areas where he is forbidden.

I hope this helps somewhat. You can't go through life clawed up!!

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Yes, I definitely do not ever want him to be declawed. Our other two family cats were when I was young, and I always hated it. My little boy will keep his paws intact.

Unfortunately, he does cause quite a racket at night if my door is closed. He slams himself against it. He does it to the bathroom door as well when i'm in there, but doesn't do it to anyone else's room in my house.

He does get up on my desk when I am not there, in fact, I have taken to laying clothes over my computer wires before bed so he doesn't tear them up.

I will definitely get Sssscat, and I think I will invest in some Feliway for my room as well. Maybe that will help keep him calm. I can use the Sssscat while I am at school, hopefully it will curb some of his behavior!

Thank you very much for the advice, and for the compliments! He really is a gorgeous boy, inside and out. I am going to try and get some more pictures up of him in one of the other forums here.

You could put him on the Maury Povich TV show and see if he can help.

he needs another cat his age. Maybe a girlfriend, but another guy would probably be good. That's what I did when I had a male pestering an old female.

He is young & has a lot of energy, try using a da bird wand toy to get some of that jumping/leaping that he needs without harming you. You may also want to look into nail caps for him, they will help prevent further scratches.

Originally Posted by gailuvscats

he needs another cat his age. Maybe a girlfriend, but another guy would probably be good. That's what I did when I had a male pestering an old female.

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I wish I could get one. Unfortunately, living with parents has its' downsides. They won't let me get any more animals. However, I am moving out this summer, if he is still being rowdy, I will definitely get him a playmate!

Originally Posted by Kami Kat

He is young & has a lot of energy, try using a da bird wand toy to get some of that jumping/leaping that he needs without harming you. You may also want to look into nail caps for him, they will help prevent further scratches.

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I will definitely get him some nail caps! We have a wand toy for him, he used to love it when he was a kitten, but now he hardly looks at it.

Originally Posted by Ducman69

You could put him on the Maury Povich TV show and see if he can help.

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LOL! I wish he would!

Does he like to chase/stalk? You could always try a laser pointer to chase to get some energy out!

When he does jump up and get you, does he do it solely to play? Or does he settle down to cuddle afterwards? If it is to cuddle, always put him right back on the floor after. Only give him petting and what not when he comes up politely. If it is to play... well, then I guess he just needs more play time! Haha

Good luck with him, he is a cutie!

Originally Posted by laceface

Does he like to chase/stalk? You could always try a laser pointer to chase to get some energy out!

When he does jump up and get you, does he do it solely to play? Or does he settle down to cuddle afterwards? If it is to cuddle, always put him right back on the floor after. Only give him petting and what not when he comes up politely. If it is to play... well, then I guess he just needs more play time! Haha

Good luck with him, he is a cutie!

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He sure does! We have one around the house somewhere, I will hunt it down.

It seems like he wants to play, but he gets so intense when he does it... I play with him throughout the day, and he gets to play-fight with our dog, but I guess it isn't quite enough. He is HUGE, so I am probably underestimating how much energy he's got.



I appreciate everyone's advice!!